Pearl Street Raga [IMPORT]

Babel (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 11, 2007)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• ASIN: B000PC6YA8
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #628,483 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars trust your ears, listen then buy, March 12, 2009

By	Raider Frog (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews

I was at my local independent record store and was talking to an employee who I have been purchasing music from for years. As usual, he began asking me the old "have you ever heard of" questions and making recommendations. Of the many different bands and albums discussed, he felt that "Pearl Street Raga" by Babel was the one that I absolutely must hear. Based on that, I purchased this EP. Needless to say but saying it anyway, he was right.

So, who and what does it sound like? That is hard to answer because they make music that is rather unique. I hear all kinds of different influences but not enough of one to hang a strong opinion on. (if that makes any sense) If I was pressed into putting them into a class of bands then I would compare them to maybe the Decemberists or Midlake, but really they are so unique that they really sound much like neither. If I was forced to pick a genre, I would say American Alt folk-country (but they are British). Not much of a review when you can't really define what you are hearing but their sound is that unique. It's not music that you have to warm up to and it isn't something that is shallow and trite. It is very melodic, with meaning and it's not music made with the hollow radio listening masses in mind. It sounds so good and so right tho that if given the right exposure, it should be played on the radio.

I'm not going to go into a song by song review because those are beatings sometimes. My first thought upon hearing it was that it sounded very American, almost midwestern. It is largely acoustic guitar based but their uniqueness comes from whats supporting the acoustic guitar. There are very tasteful violin and cello fluorishes that bring freshness to the music. Often, it sounds as if the beat is being accented by hand claps and stamping feet which also brings a certain freshness to the songs and the subtle indian influenced lead guitar lines that rise up over the top add much to the songs. It all feels very warm. Quiet a good feeling. Standout tracks for me are the title track, Pearl Street Raga with it's unique stamping rhythm and it's tasteful lead guitar lines, the mournful but beautiful country waltz of Shangri La and my favorite track, Rain, with it's beautiful gypsy sounding violin lines. Oh yea, the singing is superb too. Alot of emotion and feeling here. This is just great stuff. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, the bands American profile will become more noticeable because this music deserves to be heard.